The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 eBook

made the entire region resound with their roars.
And the place also echoed with the loud roars of lions
and tigers, while at intervals might be seen those
grisly monarchs of the forest lying stretched in caves
and glens and beautifying them with their presence
And such was the asylum, like unto heaven itself,
of Dadhicha, that the gods entered. And there
they beheld Dadhicha looking like the sun himself in
splendour and blazing in grace of person like the Grandsire
himself. And the celestials saluted the feet
of the Rishi and bowed unto him and begged of him
the boon that the Grandsire had bade them do.
Then Dadhicha, well pleased, addressing those foremost
of celestials, said, ’Ye celestials, I will
do what is for your benefit. I will even renounce
this body of mine myself.’ And that foremost
of men with soul under control, having said this,
suddenly renounced his life. The gods then took
the bones of the deceased Rishi as directed. And
the celestials, glad at heart, went to Twashtri (the
celestial Artificer) and spake to him of the means
of victory. And Twashtri, hearing those words
of theirs, became filled with joy, and constructed
(out of those bones) with great attention and care
the fierce weapons called Vajra. And having manufactured
it, he joyfully addressed Indra, saying, ’With
this foremost of weapons, O exalted one, reduce that
fierce foe of the gods to ashes. And having slain
the foe, rule thou happily the entire domain of heaven,
O chief of the celestials, with those that follow thee.’
And thus addressed by Twashtri, Purandara took the
Vajra from his hand, joyfully and with proper respect.”

SECTION CI

“Lomasa said, ’Armed with the Vajra then,
and supported by celestials endued with great might,
Indra then approached Vritra, who was then occupying
the entire earth and the heaven. And he was guarded
on all sides by huge-bodied Kalakeyas with upraised
weapons resembling gigantic mountains with towering
peaks. And the encounter that took place between
the gods and the Danavas lasted for a short while and
was, O chief of the Bharatas, terrific in the extreme,
appalling as it did the three worlds. And loud
was the clash of swords and scimitars upraised and
warded off by heroic hands in course of those fierce
encounters. And heads (severed from trunks) began
to roll from the firmament to the earth like fruits
of the palmyra palm falling upon the ground, loosened
from their stalks. And the Kalakeyas armed with
iron-mounted bludgeons and cased in golden mail ran
against the gods, like moving mountains on conflagration.
And the gods, unable to stand the shock of that impetuous
and proudly advancing host, broke and fled from fear.
Purandara of a thousand eyes, beholding the gods flying
in fear and Vritra growing in boldness, became deeply
dejected. And the foremost of gods Purandara,
himself, agitated with the fear of the Kalakeyas,
without losing a moment, sought the exalted Narayana’s